The Industrial Revolution was well underway when Queen Victoria ascended the throne in June 1837. The invention of steam power and other inventions applicable to industry impacted both business and family life of the Victorians.

Steam was the power source that forever changed the way the world functioned, both socially and economically. Steam engines transported products and raw materials to factories, seaports and ultimately the consumer. The mining, railways, textile and iron industries grew exponentially. Machinery could be run in factories producing manufactured goods on a massive scale.

The factory system allowed for efficient and economic production of goods, thereby lowering the cost of the end product. As a result, the standard of living for citizens was enhanced. By 1850, the factory system dominated Great Britain resulting in more products being made available to a wider range of consumers.

The population grew from 11 to 37 million in England during the nineteenth century. Factories created jobs which lured workers from rural communities and immigrants from Scotland and Ireland. By 1901, nearly three-quarters of the population called the city their home.

The rigid class system of the past essentially fell asunder with industrialization. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, England was an agrarian society.  The aristocracy, also known as the gentry, owned all the land.  Although a small group, the gentry wielded the power and wealth. Anyone outside the upper class could not advance into it. 

Tenant farmers could rent the land with the majority of men and women working as laborers and servants. The growth of factories meant an increase in job opportunities as well as wages. The workers left their rural life to become urban workers.

Industry, job opportunities, increased wages, and vision opened the way for a new class of citizenry by the 1850s - the middle class. This group consisted of factory owners, bankers, shopkeepers, merchants, lawyers, engineers, and other professionals. The new class was gaining power through economic and social means, not because of inherited titles or lands as the aristocracy. They soon knocked on the door of the upper class, demanding entry into the realm of the previously privileged. These men and women felt that wealth and social position were theirs for the taking through discipline and hard competition. 

Nineteenth century political and social reformer Samuel Smiles stated, "Individual effort, backed by austerity of life, would propel any man, no matter what his origins, to success in this world."

The nouveau riche* paraded their wealth through the possessions they acquired. Beautiful homes were meticulously decorated externally and from within. Decorative bric-a-brac, furnishings and wall treatments conveyed in nonverbal messages their position in society. 

The middle class was also sensitive to fashion, displaying their good fortune by the clothes they wore. The newly rich endeavored to parade their success by taking carriage rides through Hyde Park and walks along the fashionable streets of London. They enjoyed other activities including attending sporting events, picnics and drawing-room dinners.

*new rich

The Victorians set high standards for morality and respectability.  The Victorians viewed drunkenness with a disapproving eye in the nineteenth century.  

Strict standards were enforced in the sexual morality arena. Sexual experiences, particularly for women, were confined to the marriage bed. Any breath of sexual scandal would destroy a woman’s reputation. 

Numerous women’s organizations fought against prostitution. Sadly, prostitution was a supplemental form of income for many working-class girls.

The roles of men and women were clearly defined. Men worked outside the home while women raised and reared the children. The man was strong and intellectual while the woman was emotional, passive and fragile. The role of the man was as protector to his wife and children.